Mavic wheels, weird skewer and an indoor trainer

[ny biker]

I got a new wheelset over the summer, Mavic Kyserium wheels. I am now trying to set up my bike on the Cycle Ops indoor trainer for the first time since I got the wheels.

I don't have my Cycle Ops skewer here -- I think it's with the old wheels in a storage unit but I'm not sure. Today I went to the LBS and bought a skewer for use with an indoor trainer. I removed the Mavic skewer from the rear wheel, put the new skewer in place... and couldn't tighten it. I screwed the cap as far as it would go, but it was like the skewer was too long.

So I compared it to the Mavic skewer. They are the same length. But the Mavic skewer has a spacer -- a half-inch piece of plastic -- on the end with the lever. So I took that spacer and put it on the new skewer, and was able to screw the cap on enough to tighten everything up and hold the wheel in place.

But now it won't fit on the trainer -- it's too wide.

I think maybe I can adjust the trainer, but I am wondering if I really want to do that, because I really have no idea what I'm doing. I'm afraid I'll set it all up but it won't really be stable and I'll fall over and hurt myself.

Does anyone know why the skewer won't fit on the Mavic wheel without this weird spacer thing and why the whole thing is longer than the old wheel/skewer combination?

BTW I truly hate the spacer thing. There's one on the front skewer, too, and it is a royal PITA to tighten the damn thing. I take the front wheel off every time I put the bike in the car and it takes forever to screw the cap on tight when I put the wheel back on. This especially sucks in the winter when it's cold out and you just want to put your gloves on and get going.

Anyway, does anyone know what I need to do to get the bike into the trainer?

Thanks!

[pll]

Maybe a couple of pictures would be helpful to visualize the situation correctly?

[rebeccaC]

I’d just get a cycleops skewer off amazon if my lbs couldn't get one. I assume they are designed for the trainer since cycleops recommends using them.

there should be manuals on the cycleops site to look at too.

[pll]

It sounds strange. Trainer skewers are pretty standard -- I have both the one that came with my bike and one I had to buy because I forgot my skewer when I was going to attend a class on a Computrainer... they are 100% interchangeable. I would take some pics and contact CycleOps. Their customer support is nothing short of fabulous, they are very nice and helpful.

[ny biker]

I brought the bike and both skewers to the bike shop. Apparently the spacer is a Mavic-specific thing. The lever (on the left end of the skewer) is not as wide as the lever on other skewers, which lets them use the same skewer on different size wheels, but on some (including mine) it means you need to the spacer to make it work. And the spacer is shaped differently on each side, so there is a right way to put it on the skewer and a wrong way. Of course I had it on the wrong way.

Anyway the LBS manager was able to get the trainer skewer on without the spacer. I had reached a point where I just couldn't turn it anymore in order to secure the wheel, but he was able to get it tight enough.

The next time I go to the storage unit where the old wheels are, I'm going to get the Bontrager skewers and replace the Mavic skewers with them. They are much easier to work with. In the meantime, the trainer skewer will stay on the back wheel at least until spring.

Thanks!

[Crankin]

Nope, she is not imagining it. My new bike (Trek) has a weird skewer, too, that did not fit right in the trainer. I found out last night, when I almost killed myself upon standing while riding. I'd been on the trainer once before, but the bike suddenly jumped and listed. It did not fall off thankfully, and DH just replaced the original skewer with another one we have.
Kinda scared to use it again, though!

[ny biker]

The levers on the Bontrager skewers are shaped very differently. I like the shape and the way they feel when you flip them -- there's something sturdy about it. But you're right, they don't fit in a trainer. On the other hand, my mountain bike has old Shimano skewers and they are very similar to the one that I got for the trainer.

I guess this is one way that wheel manufacturers try to differentiate the look of their products vs their competitors. But many of us are riding around with Cycle Ops skewers on our fancy wheels anyway.

[pll]

Nope, she is not imagining it. My new bike (Trek) has a weird skewer, too, that did not fit right in the trainer. I found out last night, when I almost killed myself upon standing while riding. I'd been on the trainer once before, but the bike suddenly jumped and listed. It did not fall off thankfully, and DH just replaced the original skewer with another one we have.
Kinda scared to use it again, though!

Just in case, I was not saying the differences between the Mavic skewer and other skewers were imaginary (I had a DT skewer that drove me crazy), I was just responding to the suggestion of buying a CycleOps trainer skewer. Trainer skewers are pretty standard in my experience.

[Crankin]

Well, the Botranger one wasn't... of course, we have a supply of all things bike, so it was an easy fix.

[Catrin]

Glad that you could fix it! I had to get a special skewer for my Gunner to use with my Kinetic trainer as well. I could, and did, keep the trainer's skewer on the bike so I didn't need to mess with it, but I couldn't use my standard one in the trainer. I was led to understand that is more common than not.

I had Mavic wheels as well...